Sound
Activity: Book based Physics
Grade Level: 1st
Introduction:
Sounds happen all around us. Everything we hear is a sound. But how do these
sounds get to our ears? These sounds get to us by traveling through air, water or many
solids.
Sound looks and acts a lot like the waves in the ocean. When a sound is soft the
waves are moving very slowly. When sound is loud, the waves are moving very fast.
Also, when a sound is high the waves are very large. When sound is soft the waves are
very small.
Our ears are the organs we use to hear the sound waves in our world. The sound
waves hit our ears and then eventually get to our brain. Our brain then tells us what
sound we heard.
Purpose:
To have students focus on what sound is. Also, to introduce students to the ways
that sounds travel.
Equipment and Materials:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
4 rubber bands of
4 different widths
plastic bowl
2 metal spoons
3 feet string
2 Dixie cups
string 4 feet long
pushpin
Safety:

Do not shoot the rubber bands at each other.

Do not leave the pushpin where it can stab someone else.
Procedure:
Rubber bands:
1. Set out all four rubber bands. Put them in order from thickest to thinnest.
2. Pick up the thickest rubber band.
3. Slip each of your thumbs into the rubber band. Move your thumbs apart until
the rubber band is tight, but is not stretching.
4. Move your thumbs back and forth, stretching the rubber band. Was this
particular rubber band easy or hard to stretch?
5. Pick up the plastic bowl.
6. Take the rubber band and stretch it over the bowl.
Top view of bowl
Side view of bowl
The blue is the rubber band.
7. Pinch the rubber band between your thumb and pointer finger.
8. Lift the rubber band up and then let go of it. Listen carefully to the sound you
hear.
9. Lift up the rubber band and let go of it again. Make sure you remember what
it sounds like.
10. Take the thick rubber band off the bowl and put it to one side of your desk.
11. Go back to your grouped rubber bands.
12. Pick up the next thickest rubber band.
13. Slip your thumbs into this rubber band. Move your thumbs apart until the
rubber band is tight, but is not stretching.
14. Move your thumbs back and forth, stretching the rubber band. Was this
particular rubber band easier or harder to stretch than the thick one?
15. Wrap this rubber band around the bowl exactly like you did the first one.
16. Pinch the rubber band between your thumb and pointer finger.
17. Lift the rubber band up and then let go of it. Listen carefully to the sound you
hear.
18. Lift up the rubber band and let go of it again. Make sure you remember what
it sounds like.
19. Take this rubber band off and put it with the blue one that you already heard.
20. Go back to your grouped rubber bands. There should be two left in this pile.
21. Pick up the thickest rubber band of the two left.
22. Slip your thumbs into this rubber band. Move your thumbs apart until the
rubber band is tight, but is not stretching.
23. Move your thumbs back and forth, stretching the rubber band. How does this
rubber band compare to the other rubber bands? Is it easier or harder to
stretch?
24. Wrap this rubber band around the bowl exactly like you did the other ones.
25. Pinch the rubber band between your thumb and pointer finger.
26. Lift the rubber band up and then let go of it. Listen carefully to the sound you
hear.
27. Lift up the rubber band and let go of it again. Make sure you remember what
it sounds like.
28. Take this rubber band off and put it with the others you have already heard.
29. Go back to your pile that you originally classified. There should only be one
rubber band left.
30. Pick up the last rubber band.
31. Slip your thumbs into the rubber band. Move your thumbs apart until the
rubber band is tight, but is not stretching.
32. Move your thumbs back and forth, stretching the rubber band. How does this
rubber band compare to the other rubber bands? Is it easier or harder to
stretch than the others are?
33. Again, wrap this rubber band around the bowl exactly like you did the other
ones.
34. Pinch the rubber band between your thumb and pointer finger.
35. Lift the rubber band up and then let go of it. Listen carefully to the sound you
hear.
36. Lift up the rubber band and let go of it again. Make sure you remember what
it sounds like.
37. Remember the sound you heard from each rubber band. Which rubber band
had the lowest sound? Which rubber band had the highest sound?
38. Take the rubber bands and put them in order from the one that gave off the
highest sound to the one that gave off the lowest sound.
39. Put everything inside the bowl. Your teacher will come around and collect
everything.
The Tap of the Spoons:
1. For this part you and your partner will have to work together.
2. Pick up the piece of string.
3. Bring both ends of the string together.
4. Put one of the spoons in the end of the string that is now in a loop.
5. Wrap the string around the spoon to hold the spoon in place.
6. Pick up the string and put one end of the string in each hand.
7. Put one end of the string up to one ear. Then put the other end of the string up
to your other ear.
8. Move so the spoon does not rest on the tabletop.
9. Have your partner take the other spoon and gently tap the handle of the spoon
in the string.
10. What did you hear?
11. Switch places. Let your partner hold the ends of the string to their ears. Then
you pick up the loose spoon and tap it to the spoon in the string.
The String Phone:
1. Pick up one of the Dixie cups
2. Turn the cup upside down. So the bottom of the cup is pointed towards the
ceiling.
3. Using your pencil put an X in the middle of the cup bottom.
4. Using the push pin, make a hole in the X.
5. Push the string up through the bottom of the cup.
6. Tie a knot in the end of the string.
7. Pick up the other Dixie cup.
8. Put an X on it and put the string up through. Make sure you tie a knot in the
end of the string.
9. Have one of you hold a cup to their ear. The other partner must talk into the
other cup.
10. Then switch and let the first partner talk and the second partner listen.
11. Continue talking. Make sure you take turns and remember to move the cup
from your mouth to your ear so you can hear.
Questions:
1. When you use the Dixie cup phone, how does the sound travel from one cup to the
other?
2. Name 3 musical instruments that play different sounds when you hit different strings.
3. When you did the tap of the spoon, does it matter how hard your partner taps the
spoons together? Why?
Teacher’s Notes
Sound
Lab time: 35 minutes
Preparations:
Time: 10 minutes
T: You can use the same piece of string for both the phone and the spoon tap,
as long as you do the phone last. This way you don’t have to worry about
getting the knots out.
V: The van can supply materials as requested.
Answers to Questions:
1. When you use the Dixie cup phone, how does the sound travel from one cup to the
other?
Sound travels by waves. The waves from your voice cause the cup
to vibrate. The waves are then transported to the string, which is
connected to the cup. The sound waves travel down the string until they
reach the second cup. They are then transported to the cup and
eventually to the ear.
2. Name 3 musical instruments that play different sounds when you hit different strings.
Any stringed instrument will be a sufficient answer to this question.
Some examples are the violin, guitar, cello, mandolin, Autoharp, and the
string base.
3. When you did the tap of the spoon part, does it matter how hard your partner taps the
spoons together? Why?
Yes, it does matter. The harder the spoons are tapped together, the
louder the sound will be. If the sound is too loud it could hurt your ears.
Considerations:
One way to introduce this lab, or to add to it, would be to do something called
catching sound. To do catching sound correctly, you must be good at directing attention
away from the important point. What you do, is have a glass ¾ full of water sitting on the
table in front of you. Then take a metal fork and hit the prongs with your fingernail until
they vibrate. Then, in the hand without the fork, make it look like you are actually
catching the sound. But, what you need to do, is to be moving the fork down onto the
tabletop. At the exact same time, touch the fork to the tabletop and bring the “caught
sound” down and touch the rim of the glass. The sound will travel through the tabletop
and cause the glass to vibrate when you touch it. Thus, “proving” that you can carry
sound. It might take a little practice to get this to come out correctly.
Source:
Ideas for this lab are combined from:
Walpole, Brenda. Science Lab, The Ultimate Science Pack. (1997) Design Eye Holdings
Ltd. Page 31.
SEPUP/CHEM 2. (1997) Lawrence Hills of Science. University of California at Berkley.
pages 31 to 54.